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Post by benziger on Jun 21, 2020 12:15:26 GMT
In the current situation, it is difficult to know what is guesswork and what is fact.
On facebook, Bonnie Synclaire wrote: "When I got my matte-finish proof for my novel, the front cover started to tear after only a few days… is there a change in quality as well?"
Another user, Mik Thomas, confirmed this: "Yes, it got cheaper! I ordered a book, too. The cover was thin photo paper not carboard anymore … it is ridiculous! Lulu should call it a day!"
What is your experience? Have you also ordered a book in the last days or weeks and noticed thinner covers? Is there really something to it or does someone hear fleas coughing?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2020 13:53:22 GMT
In the current situation, it is difficult to know what is guesswork and what is fact.
On facebook, Bonnie Synclaire wrote: "When I got my matte-finish proof for my novel, the front cover started to tear after only a few days… is there a change in quality as well?"
Another user, Mik Thomas, confirmed this: "Yes, it got cheaper! I ordered a book, too. The cover was thin photo paper not carboard anymore … it is ridiculous! Lulu should call it a day!"
What is your experience? Have you also ordered a book in the last days or weeks and noticed thinner covers? Is there really something to it or does someone hear fleas coughing?
What I saw is the interior paper has gone from 50 to 60#. Does it specify the thickness of the cover on the website? I doubt they went thinner. People just aren't used to matte.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Jun 21, 2020 15:32:47 GMT
There used to be a choice between 50# and 60# paper, 60# being the higher quality and 50# being more what you'd use for giveaways or promo copies. The reason I know is because when I set my Trade Paperback versions for distribution it had to be 60# paper.
If people who have done projects and ordered proofs before are reporting changes in quality perhaps it would be beneficial to pay attention.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2020 16:16:14 GMT
Even more beneficial is to educate oneself on the facts. It's hard to listen to millions of people's impressions. Anyway, here are the facts I found so far. US Trade PaperbackStandard Black & White | 60# paper Bookstore quality printing at affordable costs, our US trade paperback is our most popular book lulu us trade hardcover casewrap bookUS Trade Hardcover Standard Black & White | 60# paperCasewrap with glossy or matte finish and a stiff cover boardlulu us letter paperback book US Letter Paperback Premium Color | 80# paper
Source:
I'll do some more research and if I find the actual thickness of cover paper I will come back and post.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Jun 21, 2020 16:23:33 GMT
Miss Maggie,
Yes, that is what Lulu Press is showing now. Lulu Press before the upgrade had more selection on paper.
It's even more beneficial to not alienate those who would normally agree with you on most subjects.
Since you've been making it clear lately you consider me to be either mentally defective or mentally deficient and your opinion is now apparently the only valid one, do your research and have fun.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2020 16:26:17 GMT
Miss Maggie, Yes, that is what Lulu Press is showing now. Lulu Press before the upgrade had more selection on paper. It's even more beneficial to not alienate those who would normally agree with you on most subjects. Since you've been making it clear lately you consider me to be either mentally defective or mentally deficient and your opinion is now apparently the only valid one, do your research and have fun. Thank you, Sphinx-Cameron. I appreciate that.
Please call me by the name I selected for myself. Maggie, not Miss Maggie. Thank you.
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sirram
Senior Printer
No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money
Posts: 269
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Post by sirram on Jun 21, 2020 17:41:13 GMT
Please. We don't need flame wars at the moment - even if I am going stir-crazy with the coronavirus "lock-down" in the UK. Anyone know a barber who's actually working? Let alone a Dentist. But I am interested in the paper quality. Across more than one account, I have edited or written nearly twenty books or booklets. Most were A5 and one A4. I chose the standard b&W paper quality for the innards and, in each case, a glossy cover. I have always been very pleased with Lulu's print quality. Assuming Lulu is using the same printer companies, I hope that cheaper paper won't become the norm.
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Post by benziger on Jun 21, 2020 18:16:48 GMT
Even more beneficial is to educate oneself on the facts. It's hard to listen to millions of people's impressions. Anyway, here are the facts I found so far. US Trade PaperbackStandard Black & White | 60# paper Bookstore quality printing at affordable costs, our US trade paperback is our most popular book lulu us trade hardcover casewrap bookUS Trade Hardcover Standard Black & White | 60# paperCasewrap with glossy or matte finish and a stiff cover boardlulu us letter paperback book US Letter Paperback Premium Color | 80# paper
I'll do some more research and if I find the actual thickness of cover paper I will come back and post.
as it was before
| Standard Paperback
| Premium Paperback
| Professional Hardcover | Photobook & Calendars
| US Trade
| 50
| 60 | 50 |
| Digest | 50 |
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| Pocketbook | 50 |
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| US Letter
| 50 | 60 / 70
| 50 / 60 / 70
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| Square |
| 80 |
| 80 | Landscape (2 sizes)
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| 80 (small) / 100 (large)
| Calendars (Standard/Premium)
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| 100 (both)
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Comparing the facts, it seems to have stayed the same, or even seems to be slightly heavier paper in some cases. The question remains about the book covers.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2020 18:32:55 GMT
Even more beneficial is to educate oneself on the facts. It's hard to listen to millions of people's impressions. Anyway, here are the facts I found so far. US Trade PaperbackStandard Black & White | 60# paper Bookstore quality printing at affordable costs, our US trade paperback is our most popular book lulu us trade hardcover casewrap bookUS Trade Hardcover Standard Black & White | 60# paperCasewrap with glossy or matte finish and a stiff cover boardlulu us letter paperback book US Letter Paperback Premium Color | 80# paper
I'll do some more research and if I find the actual thickness of cover paper I will come back and post.
as it was before
| Standard Paperback
| Premium Paperback
| Professional Hardcover | Photobook & Calendars
| US Trade
| 50
| 60 | 50 |
| Digest | 50 |
|
|
| Pocketbook | 50 |
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| US Letter
| 50 | 60 / 70
| 50 / 60 / 70
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| Square |
| 80 |
| 80 | Landscape (2 sizes)
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| 80 (small) / 100 (large)
| Calendars (Standard/Premium)
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| 100 (both)
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Comparing the facts, it seems to have stayed the same, or even seems to be slightly heavier paper in some cases. The question remains about the book covers.
Thank you, Benziger. I didn't know that they ever offered 80# paper.
As for the cover it used to be 100#. I am creating and uploading a new cover for a project now hoping they will give me product information at some stage. They used to tell you all the details on the page after clicking on your project title.
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Post by propertiuspress on Jun 22, 2020 3:04:55 GMT
Weighing in on the quality issue: After having used Lulu and sang their praises for nearly 9 years, I am seriously considering leaving and taking all my books with me. The quality took a nosedive over the past year. Raggedy cuts with strings of paper hanging off the top and side edges, smeared text on multiple pages, and don't get me started on book covers that used to print beautifully suddenly becoming horrifying - saturation suddenly turned up so that people appear bright orange, bright greens suddenly turned to black, inexplicably covers shifting so that the trim edge offsets so much the spine isn't even on the spine anymore. As an indie publisher with dozens of books, I cannot afford a nosedive in quality. My reputation depends on producing quality products. Our professionalism cannot be compromised by sloppy printing. Lulu has had to replace entire orders for us. The lowered quality already had us very concerned, but this website changeover is the death knell as far as we're concerned.
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Post by benziger on Jun 22, 2020 7:59:14 GMT
You write of strings. Does the decreasing quality concern only bound books? Or also stapled or paperback? In which country were they printed?
I ask because I have several paperbacks from the months of April and May that have been perfectly printed. The orders were all from Europe, probably printed in Poland.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2020 11:40:27 GMT
Weighing in on the quality issue: After having used Lulu and sang their praises for nearly 9 years, I am seriously considering leaving and taking all my books with me. The quality took a nosedive over the past year. Raggedy cuts with strings of paper hanging off the top and side edges, smeared text on multiple pages, and don't get me started on book covers that used to print beautifully suddenly becoming horrifying - saturation suddenly turned up so that people appear bright orange, bright greens suddenly turned to black, inexplicably covers shifting so that the trim edge offsets so much the spine isn't even on the spine anymore. As an indie publisher with dozens of books, I cannot afford a nosedive in quality. My reputation depends on producing quality products. Our professionalism cannot be compromised by sloppy printing. Lulu has had to replace entire orders for us. The lowered quality already had us very concerned, but this website changeover is the death knell as far as we're concerned. Are you able to upload a picture? This is shocking. Have you shown pictures of this to Lulu? Imagine they have a hack of a printer and they don't know it; this would mean millions of books returned, millions of buyers unhappy, even angry, reputation forever down the drain, permanently. Not to mention Amazon and other retailers would get tired of all the complaints and refuse to do business with lulu. They would pull all Lulu books.
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Post by adrianallan on Jun 22, 2020 11:45:00 GMT
Weighing in on the quality issue: After having used Lulu and sang their praises for nearly 9 years, I am seriously considering leaving and taking all my books with me. The quality took a nosedive over the past year. Raggedy cuts with strings of paper hanging off the top and side edges, smeared text on multiple pages, and don't get me started on book covers that used to print beautifully suddenly becoming horrifying - saturation suddenly turned up so that people appear bright orange, bright greens suddenly turned to black, inexplicably covers shifting so that the trim edge offsets so much the spine isn't even on the spine anymore. As an indie publisher with dozens of books, I cannot afford a nosedive in quality. My reputation depends on producing quality products. Our professionalism cannot be compromised by sloppy printing. Lulu has had to replace entire orders for us. The lowered quality already had us very concerned, but this website changeover is the death knell as far as we're concerned. Are you able to upload a picture? This is shocking. Have you shown pictures of this to Lulu? Imagine they have a hack of a printer and they don't know it; this would mean millions of books returned, millions of buyers unhappy, even angry, reputation forever down the drain, permanently. Not to mention Amazon and other retailers would get tired of all the complaints and refuse to do business with lulu. They would pull all Lulu books. I was under the impression that Amazon printed books with their own on-site printers and that Lulu only supply the print-ready files.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2020 12:27:33 GMT
Are you able to upload a picture? This is shocking. Have you shown pictures of this to Lulu? Imagine they have a hack of a printer and they don't know it; this would mean millions of books returned, millions of buyers unhappy, even angry, reputation forever down the drain, permanently. Not to mention Amazon and other retailers would get tired of all the complaints and refuse to do business with lulu. They would pull all Lulu books. I was under the impression that Amazon printed books with their own on-site printers and that Lulu only supply the print-ready files. Yes, but I think only for standard paperback. I believe Lulu outsources Hardcover to Ingrams. I also believe it depends on location. Lulu should have more printers around the world than Amazon. Again, not sure as things are constantly changing.
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Post by Winter on Jun 26, 2020 23:09:41 GMT
I ordered two proofs recently. I used the white interior this time instead of the usual off-white. And chose a matte instead of glossy cover. The cover quality of both were very nice. The interior was printed very nice and sharp. Both were cut very clean as well. The first proof though had pages with multiple lines printed over top of each other. They did refund my money on that one. Took about three weeks to get it back. I didn't get an apology as usual. Just an email from PayPal. But apart from that I felt the quality of the matte cover, white interior and edge cuts were great.
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